5./ JG 300 ace Konrad Bauer seated on the cockpit sill of his Fw 190 A-8 'Red 3' WNr. 171 641. This aircraft was delivered by Focke-Wulf on 27 July 1944. The photo is dated 18 September 1944 and captioned as 'one of our successful fighter pilots'. However Bauer had been shot down in 'Red 21' on 11 September in combat with P-51s (he claimed three of them). He made a successful belly landing but was wounded after being strafed by P-51s while trapped in his cockpit - losing two fingers from his right hand. His injuries put him out of action until early 1945. 'Kornjarck' - the inscription under the cockpit- was a reference to his favourite alcoholic tipple. By all accounts he liked a drink! This probably accounts for his lowly rank for such a high scoring ace. I am reliably informed that this is the only image from the leading Jagdgeschwader in the Reichsverteidigung to appear in the Bundesarchiv.

Note the yellow 'ring' on the cowl cover just forward of the windshield indicating a machine fitted with the erhöhte Notleistung emergency power boost system. The term "erhöhte Notleistung" (augmented emergency power) only applied to the BMW 801 (as far as this blogger is aware) and denoted the highest power without any special injection - "dry" power in US jargon. That just meant that the boost (manifold pressure in US terms) was increased beyond the normal rated boost, to 1.58/1.65 ata instead of the usual 1.42 ata. This differs from "Sondernotleistung" (special emergency power) which denotes the use of MW 50 or GM-1 to increase power. This is "wet" power in US jargon - these were basically aids to more effective combustion. GM-1 was used above engine critical altitude to increase supercharger efficiency and MW 50 below it. GM-1 provided oxygen for more efficient combustion while cooling the cylinder allowing greater pressure, delaying the onset of uncontrolled detonation. The main benefit of MW 50, a methonal/water mix, was detonation control, although charge cooling was a (useful) secondary effect. The same technology was simply called "water injection" in the US though they actually used a water-alcohol mixture like the Luftwaffe.

Above, a nice clear view of Fw 190 A-8 'Red 3' Werk Nr. 171 641 at Erfurt- Bindersleben during September 1944. Konrad Bauer can be seen here on the right of picture. The machine is undergoing weapons harmonisation - note the wide open field, cleared of agricultural workers before any firing testing could begin..Note that during September 1944, II./ JG 300 was not yet at Löbnitz.

Standing on the port wing and operating the firing button is Bauer's erster Wart, Ogfr.Josef Plum. On the far left is Unteroffizier Wilhelm Ladner, a 5 Staffel mechanic. Click on the image to view large..

Above; from the same album, a Breguet Bizerte in French markings prior to being repainted in Seenotstaffel colours

Above; from the Do 24 pilot's album, a view snapped while overflying Marseille, with the city's Vieux Port (left) and basilica Notre Dame de la Garde on the hilltop to the right of the picture. Note the transporter bridge visible at the entrance to the Vieux Port, still intact here but blown up by the retreating Germans on 22 August 1944. Seenotstaffel 3 was based on the lake at Berre (next to Marseille) in early 1944. Berre was also home to the six-engine transoceanic SE 200 flying boat seen below alongside a Do 24

One of three Lufthansa Junkers Ju 90 A-0 transports assigned to the Fliegerführer IrakOberst Junck and seen on Sicily against the backdrop of Mount Etna during May 1941. These machines were painted in Iraqi markings for transit via Vichy French airfields in Syria.Sonderkommando Junck was a 120-man strong 'expeditionary force' cobbled together by the Luftwaffe to support the Iraqi insurrection of Rashid Ali against the British. Ali, a German 'puppet', was not slow in reminding his German friends of the promises of support that Hitler had made, hopeful that Ali could wage Jihad against the British and chase them out of Iraq! But with operations against Crete in full swing and Barbarossa looming large, the Luftwaffe hierarchy had little enthusiasm for mounting air operations some 2,000 kms from their prinicipal theatre HQ in Athens. However on 1 May 1941 Oberst Werner Junck - Jagdfliegerführer 3 in Deauville, France - was summoned to Berlin and tasked with coordinating Luftwaffe air operations in Iraq. His first task was to establish an "air bridge" via Syria in support of Ali's Iraqi rebels then engaged in operations against the British, particularly the large air base at RAF Habbaniya, west of Baghdad. Junck received a Staffel of Bf 110s (4./ZG 76), another of He 111 bombers and some twenty transports based in Mosul in northern Iraq.

Also at Catania when the pictures above were taken was a force of Vichy French aircraft in transit from North Africa to the Middle East. They were embarking on the biggest test that the so-called 'Armistice' air force would face in their short existence - defending French colonial possessions against the British and their 'Free French' allies. The Ali insurrection in Iraq, the closure of the Mosul-Haifa pipeline and German aircraft transiting via French bases led the British to mount Operation Exporter, a ground offensive against Vichy (French) territory in the Middle East.

The Vichy French fighter force sent to Syria with the agreement of the Germans comprised the yellow-tailed Dewoitine D.520s of GC III/6, the aircraft transiting via Italy and Greece to arrive at Rayak, Lebanon on 27 May 1941 after a 3,800 km journey from North Africa. GC III/6 was commanded by Cdt Geille while the pilot roster included ace S/Lt Pierre Le Gloan, who had already achieved notoriety with five claims in one sortie against the Italians on 15 June 1940. He would return seven air combat victories against the Allies in Syria. The British launched Operation Exporter on 8 June 1941, the D.520 fighters of GC III/6 coming under attack from Tomahawks of No 3 Squadron RAAF. Five D.520s were damaged and one set alight in their first 'action' of this campaign.

Below; D.520 coded '33' seen in an official Bundesarchiv PK propaganda reporter photo in North Africa prior to the unit's transfer to Syria - note the outlined fuselage cocarde

For their journey to the Middle East the D.520s of GC III/6 were accompanied by four Potez 650 and one Farman 223 of GT II/15. The French force was held up in Athens for two days while en route to Syria due to the intense aerial activity resulting from operations against the island of Crete.

Below; Potez 650 no.15 " Adj-chef Renouard "of GT II/15 seen en route to Syria, May 1941. This particular machine was damaged in a strafing attack by Tomahawks on 26 June at Homs.

Friday, 25 December 2015

A line up of JG 52 Emils seen in Coquelles just outside Calais, the site today of the Tourist traffic waiting areas for Channel tunnel Le Shuttle traffic..note the clock tower of the town hall ( le Beffroi de l’Hôtel de Ville ) on the skyline..click to view large.

Sunday, 20 December 2015

Some neat views of Galland's Emil WNr 5819 from expired Ebay auctions - click to see the full view. Galland took over this machine on 7 September 1940 and returned his 31st victory on 11 September 1940. It was his 'regular' aircraft until mid-April 1941. The 'victory' markings were painted on a pale blue panel either in red or black - see article entitled "Galland's Emil" by Michael Payne in Aviation News, May 1992. Over the winter of 1940-41 this aircraft was thoroughly overhauled, repainted in the new grey colours (RLM 74/75/76) and re-engined..

A good view of the wing upper surfaces and the area of repainting on the fuselage under the chevron bar following the installation of the double fuselage hatches for the GM-1 boost equipment. 54 Abschussbalken on the rudder..

See also these pages elsewhere on this blog devoted to Galland's Emils and Friedrichs